Information

Physical Description

A Plum is a soft round smooth-skinned sweet fruit with sweet flesh and a flattish pointed stone. Blend stewed plums and combine with yogurt and honey for wonderful cold soup.Add plum slices to cold cereal.

Colors: The skins of plums can be red, purple, blue-black, red, green, yellow or amber.

Tasting Notes

Flavors: tart & sweet

Mouthfeel: Tart, Sweet, Crisp

Food complements: Pastry, Pastry cream, Onions, Vinegar, Basil

Wine complements: Soave, Italian white

Beverage complements: Tea, Fresh berry juice, Lemon juice

Substitutes: Pluot, Prunes

Selecting and Buying

Seasonality: may, june, july, august, september, opctober

Peak: july, august, september

Choosing: While you can also purchase plums that are firm and ripen them at home, avoid those that are excessively hard as they will be immature and will probably not develop a good taste and texture profile. Good quality plums will feature a rich color and may still have a slight whitish "bloom," reflecting that they have not been overhandled.

Buying: Plums are generally available in the marketplace from May through the early fall.

Procuring: There are more than 200 cultivars. There are four maintypes of plums: European plums, Japanese plums, the Damsons & Mirabelles and the "cherry-plums" (a native plum sometimes picked wild). Japanese plums are larger than European plums and it is a stronger race.

Preparation and Use

Plums taste best consumed "warm" from the tree but are a fine nutrition in its dried form as well. Plums stimulate the bowel movement. Its skin contains a substance that is responsible for that effect so if you peel the fruit you won't be bothered with the well known side effects of this lovely fruit. Plums are also used for its juice and often jam or a thick syrup is made out of it.

Cleaning: The skins are edible and usually eaten, while the small pit is discarded.

Conserving and Storing

Keep them on a fruit dish on a cool and dark place. Once they are ripe, plums can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days. While plums can be frozen, to ensure maximum taste remove their stone pits before placing them in the freezer.

Social/Political

History: Plums are native in China, America, Europe and the Kaukasus. Greek writers mention cultivated plum races being imported to Greece from Syria. The Romans introduced the fruit in Northern Europe. In 1864 there were 150 cultivated races.